El Mehdi Beach Resort

Me and my friend went to this Hotel for a week it was a transfer of around 2 hours from Enfidha airport when we arrived we had a very friendly welcome you could pay tourist tax in English and Euros which was helpful you were given a form to fill out and they explained about the safe and give us a information sheet times of dining activities etc we were also given a upgraded room with a sea view because it was our first time staying the room was spacious it could of done with some upgrading the bed was a bit worn and also the bathroom wasn’t overally clean would of preferred a shower cubicle to a bath with a shower over it the balcony was spacious and had a good view of the pool on one side and the sea on the other the food was overall disappointing I put some bread on the toaster and left it for 5 minutes and it was still uncooked so I didn’t bother with that again we found that some of the food was re heated and cold on one occasion at the Blue restaurant by the beach we were waiting for chicken kebabs to be cooked and found they were still pink we took them back to explain and they put them back on the grill and then by accident the woman give my friends piece of chicken to someone else we booked into the Brazilian restaurant one of the evenings you got one free visit per stay I would say that was the best food of the whole stay they also had crepes waffles and ice cream at The Blue restaurant everyday at around 3:30pm ish and there was window that would open next to the pool bar that served toasted sandwiches there was also a night express little restaurant which served soft drinks and pizza until 6am that was good the pool bar would close at 6pm and you would only have one place to get evening drinks which was the lobby bar I have to say the staff worked really hard and there was never big queues unfortunately I found the spirits un drinkable so I just had wine which was very nice the animation team were fabulous and did everything to make sure you had a enjoyable stay the program every night was fun and everyone would join in overall we had a good stay but some negative points were the toilets by the pool bar on the second day they were filthy there was lots of flies around the food and which I know wasn’t the Hotels fault and to be fair to them the staff cleaned tables and took glasses away as soon as they saw you were finished and also in a morning there was a smell of sewerage round the pool area I’m not sure why….personally this isn’t somewhere I would return

Ok, so, honest review incoming from two English guests. The only reason its getting two stars is due to the staff.. all of those we encountered were lovely and helpful and always smiling, despite having to deal with what i would consider to be some very entitled and rude guests. Sonia and the entertainment team were also great. Thats really it for the positives. Now, onto everything else... we arrived, met a very helpful man at reception, he gave us our room key and we proceeded to our room, it was midnight at this point and after a 3.5hour transfer we were tired. Room was not clean, hairs in the bedding, sand all over the floor, bathroom including the mirror still had toothpaste and hairs everywhere. I was mortified. Bed and mattress rock solid and can feel the springs, very uncomfortable. When we reported the room and asked to be moved we were told the hotel was full but someone will come and clean it. That did happen but clearly just wiped the sand off the floor, the bath and mirror still had hairs and marks all over it and that stayed that way throughout our 10 day stay, to the point the collection of hair at the side of the toilet became a running joke daily between me and my partner, we would return to the room late afternoon, go to the bathroom and confirm, yep hairs still there. So cleaning is definitely lapse.... we then came back to the room one evening to a massive cockroach in our bathroom... we rang reception, told them, they removed it, we told them its probably come from the ill fitted overflow plug In the bath to which we stuffed with toilet roll to stop anymore coming in and they said someone will come and fix ... upon us leaving the room to come home 4 days after the cockroach incident, said toilet roll was still stuffed in the overflow hole. I would probably guess its still there now.. (room 337). So room and bed was appalling. Food... repetitive and bland and not at all exciting, the member of staff in the outside area was brilliant and we sat outside most days. What was shocking was the sheer amount of food people were loading their plates with and then subsequently wasting most of this food and the state the tables were being left like. I did feel for the waiter as its like the attitude of some guests were that it was his job to clear up all their mess which I find disrespectful at the very least. Drinks... well, what can I say, only wine and beer at pool bar and blue restaurant.. I dont drink either, so only lobby bar for other drinks, cocktails are not cocktails, they are spirit and watered down fruit juice. Thats it. No vairety or imagination.Nothing exciting and after 3 days I drank mainly water. Even to the point if your chilling by the pool, you have to get dressed to go and walk to the lobby bar and que for 5 mins to be served a tiny cup of some horrible tasting drink which is not relaxing in the slightest so again after 3 days, I gave up and drank water. Beach is nice, we always found a bed and space and the sea is lovely. Pool also nice, apart from the signs telling people not to reserve sunbeds, you still had the usual suspects up at 7am putting their towels all over the beds and then not returning all day. We witnessed this throughout our 10 day stay as we were up early most days due to the beds being so uncomfortable and would watch them from the balcony. Evening entertainment, even though sonya and the entertainment guys were great the entertainment is lacking excitement and to be fair, we didn't bother with it most nights. So, all in all, we had a nice break from work for 10 days and the sun was lovely but we certainly would not return to this hotel, and probably not mahdia as a whole. In the 10 days we were there, I think there were 4 other English guests. The hotel caters for the Eastern europeans mainly and I found a lot of them rude to the staff and other guests. Want to give a shout out and a big thumbs up to the gardening/outide cleaning crew, constantly working to empty bins and keep things clean, massively overlooked but without them the place would look like what mahdia town looks like in general. On another negative point, the vendors selling tours and excursions, they are on your case constantly, from the moment you walk outside they bombard you trying to sell the excursions, which when you have literally just arrived and want a couple of days to unwind and relax it gets tideous. They dont leave you be and you end up trying to avoid them at all costs. Just so you can have some peace.

Beach resort ENGLISH REVIEW - This holiday was for 2 British ladies 50-58 years old travels g as a couple. - LOVE HOLIDAYS - Booking was made with love holidays as a package holiday - flights, transfer & hotel. - EASYJET - Flew with Easy-Jet the flight was good, the staff on the flight were very pleasant and always willing to help. - TUNISIA AIRPORT - As there is no phone signal (UK) in Tunisia, you are better off paying £20 for an E-Sim. At the bottom of the escalator at Tunisia airport there is a red stall, they will provide you with a sim and ensure your phone is up and running - this is well worth the money. - TRANSFER - This was with OTS Travel Solutions: MTS. From the airport to our hotel (Beach resort Mehdi) it took 3 hours. I would recommend paying alittle extra and get a direct taxi instead. This company will do this for you online, just go into your booking online. - HOTEL - The complex is nice and big, good for family’s & adults, lots of people from different ethnic origin, however, there are not many English people at this hotel; we only met 2 other couples at this complex. - SWIMMING POOLs - There are 2 big pools & 2 little pools; both are next to the restaurant/bar. There are slides in one pool for the kids this was a good feature and there was alittle park for kids as well. - HOTEL PARK/GROUNDS - The grounds of the hotel are well maintained. There is a small park for children, a sitting area with cosy chairs and tables to relax. There are plenty of sun beds and umbrellas. However, some of the sun beds are broken and in disrepair, but we expect this when going abroad as a sun-beds are always used on a daily basis. - RECEPTION - Staff are ok and helpful, if you want a safe, go to them and you can either pay in dinar or Euros; we paid 35 euro as a deposit for one week and you get your money back when leaving, so your safe is Free! - MONEY - This hotel does not exchange UK money to Dinar and you cannot use your bank card or English money on this complex. However, you can use Euros as well as Dinar money. You can go to a cash point which is about a 10-15 minute walk up the road. However, we found that dinar money was only used for trips/activities or spa/massage. TIP - don’t exchange to much money to dinar as you will probably not use it. - ROOM 46 - We were in a bungalow which we paid extra money for. This room is very tired, old looking and dirty! We had the usual wooden wardrobes and draws, and there is a small fridge for your own use. However, the fridge was small and dirty. This bungalow has 2 rooms; one with a double bed and a room with two single beds. You have two showers; one shower is in the bathtub and the other shower is in the cubicle. The shower in the bathtub had been fixed to the wall, however this come off the wall and flooded the floor, we went to reception to get this repair fixed, which they did immediately. This room does have some ants and at times there was a smell of sewage in the bathroom. The room has 2 x televisions which does have some English channels. The sheets and blankets on the bed are all old/scruffy and need replacing, so does the curtains! if I’m on honest the room does smell alittle like moth balls. On a good note this room is in a good spot and pretty central for everything on the complex; in the back room you can look out the window to the beach; be warned the DJ box is right outside this window. If you run out of toilet paper tell reception and they will send it to your room! Our room was cleaned maybe once or twice in the whole 7 days we were there. Towels in room are replenished every day. I am somewhat disappointed as this hotel advertises that it has a laundry service but they don’t, so theoretically they are false advertising! Otherwise, this bungalow met our personal needs for our holiday. - FOOD/DRINKS - We were all inclusive ; Food and drinks were ok, and mostly available day and night. We felt that there was little variety of food & drinks and it was very repetitive. However, there were food cooking stations where staff cooked fresh food such as omelettes, burgers, fish, pasta etc. At the main bar you can ask for large bottles of water which they give to you, along with local spirits, soft and hot drinks. Cocktails are served outside. Pancakes, kebab/burgers and ice cream are served at the blue restaurant in the latter afternoon. The bar by main reception is open all day/night. Overall, we enjoyed the food & drinks provided; both restaurants were pretty hygienic, on a daily basis staff were wearing clean uniforms, hats, gloves & tables were always being changed immediately after use. All of the restaurant staff were all very pleasant & helpful, and interacted well with everyone. - ENTERTAINMENT - Animation team were good; plenty of activities to do day/night with both children & adults. However, the activities were not done in English so you didn’t know what is going on. There is a board in reception that tells you what the activities are and the time/date. - EXCURSIONS - We did not do any excursions off site. However, I did have a treatment at the hotel which was an anti-stress massage; this cost 110 dinar. This massage was very good and well worth the money. - BEACH - There is direct access to the beach all day and all night from the hotel. There are plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach, again like I said earlier some are in disrepair and a little broken. The beach is beautiful, nice clear seawater and there is a DJ who plays music during the day. - SECURITY - There are Security men & life guards who are always present on the beach. These gentleman are very good and pleasant, they looked after our bag when we went in the sea. Thank you all x - STAFF COMPLIMENTS - There were 2 staff that stood out to us - the lady who cooks the omelettes in the morning at breakfast time and the young lady who makes the pancakes in the afternoon by the blue restaurant; I believe her name is Aya? - both staff are impeccable, very welcoming and pleasant, and went the extra mile! Both of these ladies are an asset to your team; thank you both x OVERALL - This is a nice little complex, I do rate this hotel as 4 star hotel in Tunisia, however, would rate our bungalow as a 3 star; this bungalow was not worth the money I paid extra for! I am sorry to say if you do come to this hotel then you will get what you paid for! NEVERTHELESS WOULD WE STAY HERE AGAIN? Yes we would stay here again!

The hotel's location is near Mahdia centre, and the rooms are very uncomfortable; the hotel needs a lot of maintenance

We stayed here for a week in a newly renovated bungalow, and in our opinion, it was definitely better than a hotel room. As for the food, the staff were very nice and friendly, although we would have appreciated a slightly wider selection of dishes. The best part for us, however, were the animators. They are really friendly, kind and know how to entertain people and create a great atmosphere. We had a lot of fun thanks to them throughout our stay. For us, they were definitely one of the biggest positives of the whole holiday! ❤️